Part of what makes colonoscopy the gold standard for colon cancer screening is its safety profile. The risk of serious complications is low (perforations and post-procedure bleeding occur in only 0.05% and 0.3% of colonoscopies, respectively). Yet according to a study out of Yale, a far larger percentage of patients return to the emergency room (ER) within seven days of colonoscopy, with far-reaching impacts on cost and patient outcomes.
